Reader's Watchdog: Iowa officials plan new program to help protect our children

Jun. 16, 2013
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Members of the Iowa State Patrol huddle to plan their morning as the search for Kathlynn Shepard, 15, continued the week she went missing in May. Shepard's body was found June 7. / Bryon Houlgrave/Register File Photo

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Michael Shepard of Dayton recalls the life of his daughter, Kathlynn, during her memorial service on Thursday. / Rodney White/The Register

HOW TO TALK TO KIDS ABOUT SAFETY

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children suggests the following when talking to kids about being safe: • Don’t scare them. Communicate in a positive way that builds confidence and self-esteem. • Spend time reviewing safety information before you talk to your children. • Consider your child’s age. For instance, a typical 4-year-old won’t sit through long explanations or retain a lot of information. • Be open. Be sure to set clear guidelines, but try not to lecture or criticize. This can help to build a trusting relationship. • Identify trusted adults. Ask children to identify at least two trusted adults they can turn to for help if anything they encounter makes them feel scared, uncomfortable or confused. For other tips on what to do, go to tinyurl.com/mhxsnmg.

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Michael J. Klunder pulled up after school and asked two Dayton girls what seemed a harmless question: Do you want to make some money mowing lawns?

He promised to take Kathlynn Shepard and Dezi Hughes in his pickup to ask their parents if it would be all right.

The Des Moines Register Reader’s Watchdog question this week is a critical one we should all be asking:

Do you know for sure what the children in your life would do if someone made the same offer to them?

As we have been so starkly reminded in the past 12 months, making certain kids know how to respond if approached by a stranger is critical. So much so, in fact, Iowa’s Department of Public Safety plans to roll out a new school-based program in the next couple of weeks to repeat the message for youth ages 10 through 15.

Sgt. Scott Bright said the “refresher course” is aimed at kids who may have let their guard down. School districts can request the training by going to the department’s website and contacting the safety education officer in their region.

Essentially, Bright said, the program, taught by 13 state patrol safety educators across the state, will encourage youths to develop safety plans with parents and get away from any stranger who approaches them no matter what.

Ideally, authorities would want any key information about the suspect or suspects. But not if that would put a child at risk.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited children found in an analysis of more than 8,000 attempted abductions that 40 percent of the incidents involved kids between the ages of 10 and 14. Sixty-eight percent of the victims are girls. The average age: 11.

Seventy-two percent of the incidents involved perpetrators who were driving in vehicles.

Eighty-three percent of children did something “proactive” to escape, such as running, yelling, kicking or attracting attention.

The top five ploys to lure kids: ride offers, candy or sweets, asking questions, money or using animals.

Nancy McBride, national safety director for the center, said spring and summer are when children are most vulnerable. Kidnappers tend to keep searching until they find a victim, she said.

Bright suggested parents develop a plan, such as having kids text when they have arrived safely at their destination. McBride said communication is key.

What happened to 15-year-old Shepard, whose body was found June 7 in the Des Moines River near Boone, is the rarest type of child exploitation: a kidnapping by a complete stranger. She was found about 11 miles from where she was abducted while walking home from the bus after school and died of “multiple sharp and blunt-forced injuries,” according to Iowa Chief State Medical Examiner Dr. Julia Goodin.

Yet, Iowans also witnessed the high-profile disappearance of two other girls last July. Evansdale cousins Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, were found dead last December. Their killer has not been caught, and authorities have been reviewing that case to see if Klunder could have been involved.

Though the cases are unusual, they are not what I would call rare. At least 16 alleged attempts were reported in The Des Moines Register’s pages just last year. They included:

• In December, deputies arrested a 19-year-old Maynard man for trying to entice a 10-year-old girl and two other children to get into his truck. All three ran away and reported the incident to their parents.

• The same month, a third-grader in Des Moines told police that people in a car offered her candy to get in. The 9-year-old, who was on her way home from school, ran home and called a parent.

• In October 2012, a 10-year-old Johnston boy told police a man tried to lure him while he played outside his house. That man, described as having bushy hair and scruff on his face, also had a red pickup. The boy refused and ran into his house to tell his parents.

• In September 2012, northwest Iowa authorities reported a string of abduction attempts in Lyon, Dickinson and Clay counties. In one incident, a man reportedly drove near a Spencer grade school and approached two students. In another incident in Sheldon, two teenage girls reported an older male yelled at them and watched them from an older silver minivan. Three other, similar incidents were reported that month.

• In August, a fifth-grade girl in Waukee told police a man driving a deep purple van with three black stripes tried to lure her into the vehicle. The man, described as being about 30, got out while the girl was waiting for her school bus and asked her to get in. She fled home.

• In the spring of 2012, at least six attempted abductions were reported in central Iowa and one in Cedar Rapids. Those were all prior to the cousins’ disappearance in Evansdale.

In the Cedar Rapids case, a man and woman in an older white Chevy Astro van grabbed a 5-year-old boy and his bicycle. The father told police that after he yelled at the two, they let go of the boy and drove off. Another man with a larger build was reportedly driving the van.

At least once this year and last, Iowa officials have issued Amber Alerts to the public, which are used when an abducted child is believed to be in danger of serious bodily harm or death. Lt. Robert Hansen, public information officer for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, told me authorities were preparing to issue an alert in the Webster County abductions, but they learned of Klunder’s suicide just as the paperwork was being finalized.

A convicted sex offender from Stratford, Klunder drove the girls to a hog confinement seven miles south of Dayton. Hughes escaped from his parked truck and hid. Later she made her way to a nearby house and called for help.

Iowa public safety officials warn that hoaxes and false reports do happen, particularly in the wake of media reports on such cases. In August 2012, for example, police said two 11- and 14-year-old girls fabricated a report of an abduction attempt. The false report came just the month after the Evansdale girls went missing and soon after the other reports in central Iowa.

If you need to have more conversations with children, you may want to watch a multi-part report produced last year by “Dateline NBC” that can be found on YouTube. The program hired actors to entice kids, finding some were willing to tell strangers personal information such as their name and addresses, accept free ice cream and even get into vehicles.

Hansen declined last week to tell me exactly how many enticement attempts have been reported over the past couple of years. The information is gathered in a database shared by law enforcement statewide, but it is there for criminal intelligence, he said.

Conviction data I obtained last week from the state suggests about 14 different types of crimes — from kidnapping to child stealing to attempts to entice children — have actually declined somewhat from 2010 to last year.

But those statistics, which showed a drop from 363 “disposed” charges to 337 — do not reflect all crimes reported. Some of the crimes also include parents who have taken children in custody disputes, harboring runaways or false imprisonment, according to the data from Iowa’s Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning.

Nationally, authorities report about 1,000 abduction attempts a year, a number that stays pretty constant, according to McBride.

While some parents have gone so far as to place GPS-like devices on children, McBride said that is only one tool and parents should not allow themselves a false sense of security.

Steve Scott of the nonprofit Prevent Child Abuse Iowa told me he believes further tragedies are “virtually unavoidable” unless grown-ups “drum it into kids’ heads” that they cannot get into cars with strangers.

Contrary to the ongoing discussions among state politicians about the need for more stringent sex offender laws, Scott said, he does not believe harsher sentences for perpetrators are the answer. And he reminded: Research shows the biggest threat to children is people in their own families.

Yet, Scott applauded the news of more abduction education for older youth, particularly in rural Iowa, where we forget there is need for just as much, or maybe even more, precaution.

Lee Rood’s Reader’s Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at lrood@dmreg.com or by calling 515-284-8549. Read past reports at DesMoinesRegister.com/ReadersWatchdog.